Li Linlin knows that rich people especially believe in these things, but she had never done any calculations herself.

After leaving Madam Qiu’s house, she first dialed the number on the business card— Madam Qiu said that this Master Chang Xin was usually very busy and that she must call to make an appointment before going.

The phone was quickly picked up, and to Li Linlin’s surprise, it was a young lady with an unusually sweet voice on the other side, “Hello, this is Chang Xin Studio. How can I help you?”

Li Linlin glanced at the phone screen, thinking for a moment that she had dialed the wrong number.

“Hello, Chang Xin Studio.”

The young lady opposite repeated the words ‘Chang Xin Studio’, and Li Linlin was convinced that this was indeed the fortune teller’s number. “Hello, um, I would like to make an appointment…… to have my fortune told.”

She finally got the words out.

“Please wait a moment, I’ll help you check the appointment list.” A few keyboard tapping sounds came from the other end, followed by the young lady speaking again, “Our boss is fully booked for the next week, but there’s a customer who has canceled their appointment for this afternoon. Let me inquire with our boss first. If he has no other arrangements for this afternoon, I’ll help you schedule an appointment. Is that okay with you?”

“Y-yes.” Li Linlin was stunned by the other side’s professional service. This Chang Xin Studio had a temperament that was like one of the world’s top 500 fortune tellers.

“Then I’ll get back to you later.”

Not long after hanging up the phone, Li Linlin received a call back from Chang Xin Studio. The young lady said that Li Linlin was scheduled this 2:30 in the afternoon and asked if she had any other questions.

“No problem, I’ll go over now.” Li Linlin went home and called the driver to take her to Chang Xin Studio. It was located in the most bustling commercial district in the city, not far from the main branch of Xingguang Department Store so the driver didn’t raise any doubt as he drove Li Linlin on her way.

After Li Linlin got off the car, she went to the floor of Chang Xin Studio according to the address on the business card. As soon as she got out of the elevator, she saw a young lady wearing professional attire standing at the front desk.

“Ms. Li?” The young lady asked her in a sweet voice, the same as she heard on the phone.

“Yes.” Li Linlin made a point of wearing a mask when she left the house and she hadn’t taken it off even now. Her voice was a little muffled as she nodded at the other person.

“This way please, our boss is already waiting for you inside.” The lady pointed her in the direction of the office and invited her to go over.

Li Linlin thanked her and subconsciously pulled the mask on her face up before walking in the direction she indicated. There’s a grand door at the end of the corridor with a crystal plaque that reads ‘Chang Xin’s Office’.

This should be it.

Li Linlin calmly accepted the setting of the fortune teller having an office.

After pushing the door open and entering, she discovered that Chang Xin not only had an office, but was also wearing a tailored suit, which was as good as Chen Yiran’s.

“M-master Chang Xin?” To be honest, she didn’t dare recognize such a master.

“It’s me. Ms. Li?” Chang Xin smiled and nodded towards her.

Li Linlin heard from Madam Qiu that Master Chang had been famous in A City for many years. However, it hadn’t left many traces on his face. Not only was his skin well-maintained, making it difficult to tell his true age, but his figure showed no signs of gaining weight at all, no different from a young man.

Most importantly, this Master Chang was very handsome.

No wonder rich ladies like to ask him to tell their fortunes so much!

“Have a sit.” Chang Xin smiled at Li Linlin and asked her to sit down on the sofa by the window. As soon as Li Linlin walked over, the lady from the front desk brought her a glass of lemonade.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The young lady smiled and walked out with the tray.

“What do you want to calculate?” Chang Xin sat down opposite Li Linlin and examined her. “Based on your face, you’re having a difficult time in love, right?”

Li Linlin was shocked. “You can tell even though I’m wearing a mask?”

Master Chang Xin said in an unperturbed manner, “The eyes are the windows to the soul. You can understand just by looking at a person’s eyes.”

“……” Oh. 🙂

“Did you confess to the person you like and got rejected?” Chang Xin asked again.

This time, Li Linlin was genuinely surprised. “Is my eyes that obvious?”

Chang Xin chuckled softly. This little girl was quite interesting. “Give me your birth date.”

Li Linlin had already prepared it before she came. She handed Chang Xin a small piece of paper with her birth date written on it and asked him nervously, “How is it?”

As if to deliberately create a tense atmosphere, Chang Xin looked at it for a while before answering her, “You’ve got an interesting fortune.”

Li Linlin: “……”

She felt like a terminally ill person that went to see a doctor, who after half a day’s study happily told her, “You’ve got an interesting illness!”

“Your financial and career luck in life is very good, but your luck in love is quite troubled. However, you insist on seeking love. Don’t you think it’s interesting?”

Li Linlin: “……”

She wouldn’t say so.

“In your fortune, the richer you are and the more successful your career is, the less smooth your relationship will be.” After Chang Xin said so, he touched his chin. “If you ask me, what do you need love for when you have money? That’s it then.”

Li Linlin: “……”

Hey, don’t just make such an arbitrary decision!

After receiving some ‘guidance’ from Master Chang, Li Linlin felt that her life had become even gloomier.

She sat in the car on the way home and stared at the scenery outside the window in a daze. Wu Hui suddenly called her excitedly and asked her to go to the studio. It was nearby so Li Linlin asked the driver to turn around and pull up outside.

“What is it?” Li Linlin walked into the studio and collapsed on the sofa like a salted fish.

Wu Hui gave her a disgusted look but soon became pleased again. “I have good news for you. A script has come from Huanyu. They’re asking if you’re interested.”

Li Linlin’s eyebrows moved and she felt a little surprised. “Huanyu?”

“That’s right.” Wu Hui proudly picked up the script on the table and handed it to Li Linlin. “This is it, 《Fatal Heartbeat》. You must have heard of it, right? This novel was all the rage when we were in high school! Huanyu has bought the right for its TV adaptation and their dramas are all of high quality. Most artists can’t even act in one if they want to. It’s really enviable that you can get in for your first drama!”

“……” If she hadn’t gone to Master Chang’s studio, she might have thought that this was really enviable, but now, she only wanted to be a bystander.

“I’m not acting.” Li Linlin slumped back on the sofa where a salted fish belong.

Wu Hui was stupefied, never expecting her to refuse. Any young actress given this opportunity would jump with joy but when handed to Li Linlin, she’s actually refusing?

“Li Linlin, pull yourself together! Isn’t it just that your confession was rejected? What’s this small thing in front of money— no— I mean, in front of your career?” Wu Hui passionately gave Li Linlin chicken soup for the soul. “What’s so good about men? Work can give you money!”

“……” She just didn’t want money since it would affect her love life. 🙂

“If you can get the female lead role of this drama, your starting point will be a whole lot higher than others!”

Li Linlin flipped through the script with lack of interest, putting Wu Hui’s impassioned speech in one ear and out the other. She had indeed heard of 《Fatal Heartbeat》, which, as Wu Hui said, had taken the whole school by storm.

“I can act, but I want to play Ou Jiaxiu.”

The smile on Wu Hui’s face suddenly collapsed after hearing the name Ou Jiaxu. “What?”

“I said, I want to play Ou Jiaxu.” Li Linlin repeated loudly.

“……” Wu Hui was silent for a while before she wiped her face in frustration. “I know you artists like to play villains, but there’s a charismatic kind. Ou Jiaxu is just a tool person^[1]people used as a tool; someone being taken advantage of; errand boy/girl and a vicious female supporting character! What else is she besides a stupid and poisonous character?!”

Actors avoid roles like Ou Jiaxu, but Li Linlin was so good that she even rushes to play her.

Li Linlin put down the script for the first few episodes in her hand and curled her lips. “Xixi has read the novel and I heard her talk about it. It’s the story of a simple and kind-hearted female protagonist who managed to catch the male protagonist’s attention with her innocence and smart. And for the sake of his true love, the male protagonist took up the courage to resist the marriage arrangement made by his family and finally achieved a happy ending with the female protagonist.”

“That’s right. You’ll be the ex-fiancée.”  Wu Hui smiled sweetly. “You’ll be responsible for all the bad things in the drama. And even though you’ve tried all possible means, you still won’t be able to get the male protagonist, before finally coming to a miserable end.”

Li Linlin sighed pretentiously. “You all care about whether the male and female protagonists are together, but who has seen Ou Jiaxu’s suffering?”

Wu Hui: “……”

“Anyway, I’ve decided to play Ou Jiaxu. How cliché is the story between the male and female protagonists? Only Ou Jiaxu is like a breath of fresh air.”

“……I think your brain had a mudslide^[2]a unique or surprising way of thinking/action which is far different from normal people.” Wu Hui was so exasperated with Li Linlin. Nowadays, the audience likes to empathize with the actors through their characters. If they play an endearing role, the actors can take advantage of it, but if they play the role that everyone shouts at, just wait for the actor’s ancestors to be greeted^[3]to be scolded all day.

“It’s true that some of the plots of the original novel are quite outrageously cliché, but since Huanyu is going to film it, there will definitely be changes in the script.” Wu Hui earnestly advised Li Linlin, “How about you read all of the script first before making a decision?”

The TV drama was still in its preparation stage and all the scripts hadn’t been written yet. What the showrunners had given was only the script for the first few episodes.

Li Linlin, however, remained resolute. “I’ve already made up my mind. There’s no need to say anything more, dear.”

Wu Hui: “……”

She confirmed that there’d been a mudslide in Li Linlin’s brain.

Usually, when Li Linlin behaved so anti-intellectually, it had something to do with Chen Yiran. So Wu Hui’s eyes moved and she tried to sound Li Linlin out, “What did you do this afternoon? Were you outside when I called you?”

The Li family’s villa was in Lize Park. It’s impossible to come from there to here so quickly.

When Li Linlin heard Wu Hui’s question, she coughed lightly and told the other party, “I just went shopping at Xingguang Department Store. You know, shopping can cure all kinds of illnesses.”

“Heh, so how come your love brain isn’t cured?” Wu Hui crossed her arms and scrutinized Li Linlin. “You’d better be honest, otherwise I’ll—”

“Otherwise you’re going to stew me again?” Li Linlin sneered and looked at Wu Hui. “Wu Hui’er, you don’t scare me anymore. You don’t even know how to make a stew!”